A dream became a reality for more than 700 kids in West Point, Mississippi after Yokohama Tire and KaBOOM!, along with approximately 200 local volunteers, banded together and built a brand-new, eco-friendly playground at Marshall Park.

Many of the volunteers helping on the one-day build work at Yokohama Tire Manufacturing Mississippi, the high-tech, 1,000,000 square foot plant in West Point.

This was the third playground collaboration with Yokohama KaBOOM! – the national non-profit dedicated to ensuring that all kids get a childhood filled with the balanced and active play needed to thrive. The first two were built in Southern California and Rockland, Massachusetts.

“The new playground offers a fun, safe play area for children and their parents,” said Alan Holtschneider, director of marketing at Yokohama Tire Corporation. “It’s gratifying to bring joy and happiness to the community of West Point.”

The new playground is built with new, brightly colored, environmentally safe “Cradle-to-Cradle”-certified playground equipment. Yokohama and KaBOOM! met with local parents and their children back in August to help design the playground and pick out color schemes and equipment.   

“Hundreds of kids in West Point now have a great, safe place to play thanks to Yokohama Tire Corporation and the City of West Point,” said Lysa Ratliff, vice president, corporate partnerships of KaBOOM!. “I’m excited KaBOOM! was able to help provide a play space where these kids can have fun, learn, explore and just be kids.”